Utica, NY (12/2/13)- After spending the first three weeks of the season on the road, the Utica College men's basketball team returns to the Harold T. Clark gymnasium for its 2013-14 home opener as it hosts SUNY Canton Wednesday evening at 6 pm.

Game Coverage: Live video for all home games is available at empire8.tv… Links for live stats for Wednesday's contest are available on the Pioneers' schedule page at www.ucpioneers.com.

Social Media: If you can't make it out to the game make sure to follow live updates on the Pioneers official Twitter feed, @UCPioneers… If you are at the game and on Twitter, or talking about the game on Twitter, make sure to use#letsgoUC… You can also "Like" the Pioneers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UCpioneers.

Last Time Out: After a constant flurry of lead changes, SUNYIT used a late 14-2 run to pull away from UC and win 90-80 on Sunday in Marcy... Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) racked up 21 points for Utica on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, while Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn), Rich Smith (Albany, NY/La Salle Institute), and Marty Felicia (Phoenix, NY/Phoenix) all finished in double figures... Smith was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc as the Pioneers canned ten long balls on the afternoon.

Crashing the Boards: Utica ranks second in the Empire 8 conference in rebounding average, with 46.2 rebounds collected each game... On average, UC collects 15.6 rebounds per game on the offensive glass alone... Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) leads the conference with an average of 12.8 rebounds per game, and already has a conference-high 48 defensive rebounds... As of November 24th, Jeffers was ranked fifth in the country in rebounding average.

Dishing it Off: Guard Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) is second in the Empire 8 with an average of 4.4 assists per game.

Spot them 80: Utica has yet to score less than 80 points in a game this year, and their average of 81.8 points per game is good for third in the conference.

The Best Things In Life Aren't Free: Utica continues to struggle at the charity stripe, knocking down just 62.5 percent of free throw attempts.

A Tale of Two Schedules: With the exception of two games against provisional E8 member Houghton and the second half of a home-and-home with nearby SUNYIT, nearly all of UC's nonconference games take place during the fall semester... In turn, the entire E8 schedule will be played after the New Year.

Building a New Arena, Block by Block: Utica is in a three-way tie for second in the conference with three blocked shots.

About Canton: The Roos currently sit at 0-4 in their young season, and have only played one game on the road... Three Roos average in double figures, led by Sam Annorh's 14.5 points per game... Last year, Marion Lewis (Bronx, NY/Lehman) came off the bench to score 21 points for Utica as the Pioneers defeated Canton 89-66.

Looking Ahead: UC remains home Monday as it plays host to Union College… Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m.


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